Pathways to Self-sufficiency at Passages

In 2009, MSU Billings began providing workforce training and post-secondary education to incarcerated women through the U.S. DOJ grant-funded program Pathways to Self Sufficiency. This documentary, “The Next Chapter,” follows one group of Pathways students as they participate in a joint book club/service learning course with MSU Billings freshmen. In the book club, the Pathways women (at Passages pre-release center) and the MSU B students read Thomas Mullen’s novel, The Last Town on Earth. They discussed together the themes of community and citizenship, the qualities that strengthen or challenge a community, and the solutions that can improve community well-being; the class ended with a visit to Passages by the author, where he spent an afternoon visiting with the women. “The Next Chapter” documentary illustrates the power of education as, in a mutually respectful environment, these two unlikely groups break down stereotypes and learn from one another.